February 11, 2002

Mitchell B. Owen, Ed.D.

Overview

North Carolina Cooperative Extension (NCCE) has defined seven (7) core competencies, thirty-nine (39) sub-competencies, and accompanying multi-level proficiencies important to the effectiveness of administrative leaders of Extension programs. The Core Competencies, sub-competencies and proficiency level development effort began with the work of the Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on Staff Development and Training in August 1998. Charged with five challenges, the BRC began with a study of the organization's staff development system and culminated in a set of recommendations for transformational change to personal and organizational development. Since its creation in 2001, the Personal and Organizational Development group has continued the work of the BRC through literature and stakeholder analysis including the use of task forces such as the County Extension Director Competency Task Force. The result of these efforts is the current description of competencies, sub-competencies, and proficiency levels for Extension Administrative Leaders.

The current competency model has been widely accepted internally and as well as externally among groups sharing similar organizational missions as NCCE. While all the sub-competencies are considered important for success, further examination of the sub-competencies was desired in order for organizational development leaders to clearly understand the "felt" needs of existing and newly hired administrative leaders.

Methods

County Extension Directors were sampled by randomly selecting four of the seven Extension Districts organized in North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Fifty (50) County Extension Directors were surveyed using an internally developed survey instrument administered during four face-to-face meetings. Participants in the study were asked to select the sub-competencies they consider most critical to develop in order to become an effective County Extension Director. Participants were also asked to select sub-competencies that newly hired County Extension Directors were most likely to be most proficient in. Responses were accumulated using multi-voting methods consistent with accepted quality improvement procedures. Percentages were then calculated to create and assign three levels of importance.

Findings

Preliminary results show eight sub-competencies are considered critically important in achieving success in the role of an administrative leader: Over seventy percent of all County Extension Directors surveyed felt the following eight sub-competencies were critical:

• Understanding the NCCE and County Government Partnership
  

• Team Building
  
• Politics and Relationship Building
  
• Budget Management
  
• Effective Use of Volunteers and the Advisory Leadership System
  
• Oral Communication
  
• Active Listening
  
• Creativity, Innovation, and Visionary Thinking

The majority of County Extension Directors surveyed considered an overwhelming number of the sub-competencies important. The following eleven sub-competencies, in addition to the eight listed above, were considered important by a majority of County Extension Directors.

• Vision, Programs, and Goals
  
• Funding Process
  
• Training, Coaching, and Delegating
  
• Appraising People and Performance
  
• Program Planning
  
• Evaluation and Accountability
  
• Managing Change
  
• Ethical Behavior
  
• Networking, Partnerships, and Collaborations
  
• Customer Service
  
• Model the Way

Sub-competencies receiving less than a majority ranking should also be considered important from the viewpoint of these sub-competencies being "unfelt" needs. The findings were developed using a forced choice method thus intensifying the deviation of the importance levels of the sub-competencies. Only two sub-competencies received few responses. In addition, huge disparity in perceived needs is apparent across districts. Thirty-one of the thirty-eight sub-competencies were considered critical by at least a majority of County Extension Directors from one district. These findings coupled with the foundational research that resulted in the thirty-eight sub-competencies suggest that while some sub-competencies may be considered critical developmental needs early in a County Extension Director's tenure, all (39) sub-competencies should be considered important to fully develop as an administrative leader. The remaining important sub-competencies include:

• History, Philosophy, and Mission
  
• Knowledge of Organizational Structure, Function, and Relationships
  
• National Perspectives for CES
  
• Policies and Procedures
  
• Resource Development
  
• Staffing, Recruitment, and Hiring
  
• Risk Management., Decision Making, and Project Management
  
• Design of Programs
  
• Implementation of Programs
  
• Adult Education and Instruction
  
• Personal Organization Skills
  
• Professional and Personal Development
  
• Written Communication
  
• Information and Communication Technology
  
• Interpersonal Relationships and Emotional Intelligence
  
• Negotiation and Conflict Management
  
• Understanding Self and Others
  
• Systems Thinking
  
• Working with Groups

County Extension Directors were also surveyed concerning which sub-competencies were most likely to be mastered prior to entering the role of County Extension Director. Results of this survey show five (5) sub-competencies as significantly more likely to have been learned. They include:

• History, Philosophy, and Mission
  
• Program Planning
  
• Implementation of Programs
  
• Ethical Behavior
  
• Oral Communication

County Extension Directors were also asked to respond to the survey with any additions, deletions, or modifications of the sub-competencies or proficiencies. With the exception of very few recommendations made to enhance readability and understanding, no changes were made to the sub-competencies or proficiencies. County Extension Directors express confidence in the accuracy of the sub-competencies and proficiencies.

Conclusions and Implications

The following implications can be drawn from the findings as a result of this and previous studies:

1. Themes drawn from those sub-competencies considered most critical suggest that the political and budgetary landscape must be mastered by County Extension Directors early in their tenure. The development of a strong advisory leadership system, a clear understanding of the political environment, skills in building a strong NCCE and County Government partnership and early building of relationships with key leaders are essential to success as a County Extension Director.

2. County Extension Directors need to master all thirty-eight sub-competencies to ensure long-term success. Findings indicate a majority of the County Extension Directors felt most of the sub-competencies were critical to their effectiveness and success.

3. County Extension Directors may wish to participate in some method of self-assessment early in their tenure so that they can develop a long-range personal improvement plan toward mastery of all of the sub-competencies. Supervisors and professional development leaders should anticipate and prepare development opportunities that vary depending on the individual needs of each County Extension Director.

4. There was consensus across the districts that new County Extension Directors come to the job with: knowledge of the history, philosophy, and mission of Extension; strong oral communication skills; a sound ethical foundation; and ability to plan and implement educational programs. Addressing the needs of the small number of County Extension Directors who do not show mastery of these sub-competency areas may be best done through mentorship and self-directed study.